Biblical Worldview

Right has become wrong and wrong has become right. The elitists, power-players and special-interests in both parties have prostituted themselves for power, reputation, kickbacks, special favors, pomp and circumstance, and whatever else feeds their lusts. They exchange the timeless, self-evident principles of America’s founding for their own interests (or the interests of their “buddies”) and do not care about “We the People” until they need our votes (which many voters gladly give in exchange for a government check in one form or another). They love their seats of influence on their various committees and sell their souls – little by little at first – for the promise of even more power, which tends to corrupt the unprincipled. They profane common sense, spend money they do not have (actually, they have no money besides what the taxpayers are forced to give them), break the law they took an oath to uphold, break campaign promises they made to garner our support, and “frame and hide their unrighteous doings under [the sacred name of] law?” (Psalm 94:20 AMP)

Meet the donkephant!

We’ve sold our principles for power in our parties and this is especially true in the GOP. We’ve always known what to expect from the Democrats; at least they say what they believe. The establishment candidates in the GOP, on the other hand, tells us what we want to hear. They run as Conservatives who love freedom and the Constitution, but then, when they’ve won because we believed them and voted for them, they revert to who they’ve always really been – big government Progressives who love power and money. And this isn’t new. We’ve been betrayed and lied to by “our own” since the dawn of the Progressive Era in the 1890s. And those who think Obama and the Democrats or McConnell and the Republicans are the problem, do not understand that the real problem is big government Progressivism, along with the nefarious love of power and money. The political, ruling class in both parties (i.e. McConnell, Pelosi, Christie, Obama, Bush, Sanders, McCain, Biden, Graham, Clinton, Tillis, Boxer, Burr, etc.) are all the same. They play us for fools, trying to make us think the Rs and Ds are so different, when they’re not. They try to convince us that their party is the solution and the other party is the problem, but they are both the problem. They are both progressive. They are both irrelevant.

This is why I left the GOP. I am done with the games. I am done with the parties [Note: The Founders WARNED us against the parties!]. I am done with the false choice and voting for “the better of both evils” when “the better” has proven (ad nauseam) to be no better than its counterpart. When will we stop letting them play us for fools? The first time they fooled us, it was “shame on them.” The next time they fooled us it was “shame on us.” Now, after they’ve fooled us election cycle after election cycle (thanks, in large part, to our short memories and blind loyalty) for the last several decades, do we not deserve the appropriate title of “fools”? When will we stop this madness? When will we stop believing that doing the same thing over and over and over again will somehow produce a different result? Are we insane? It’s time for us to stop empowering them with our money, volunteerism, votes, etc. It’s time to do what we’ve never done before.

The solution?

To my Democrat and Republican friends, leave the parties. Visit your local Board of Elections and switch to unaffiliated. This will allow you (1) to be free from both parties, (2) to be free to choose which party you can vote for in the Primary just as you can already do in the General, (3) to be free to vote for candidates and issues rather than be enslaved to a party that doesn’t hear you or define you, and (4) to be free to remain engaged in party activities without being isolated and limited to a party.

It’s time to put principles ABOVE politics!

Then, after you’ve switched, research each and every candidate. Stop listening to what they say. Talk is dirt cheap! Instead, study their voting records, their track records, what they’ve done. By their fruit you will know them. Then, when the time comes and a viable candidate appears, who matches your personal values, vote for them on their own merits, not because they have an (R) or a (D) or an (I) behind their names but because they are aligned with your personal values. And, if there’s no candidate in a particular race who meets your standards, vote by not voting. In the end, our vote or non-vote may not change anything but at least we’ll finally be true to ourselves as responsible stewards of our votes before our Maker rather than before a party.

Unfortunately, too many of us still put too much blind trust in our politicians at the expense of being reasonable and objective and of holding them to the high standard of their oaths of office, as well as to their campaign promises. We give a pass to our favorite party and politician(s) and scold the other party and politician(s) whenever they’re guilty of the same infractions. We’ve allowed the parties and many politicians to become gods to be worshipped rather than servants of “We the People.” We need leaders who are humble servants (Proverbs 16:17-19; 18:12). Those who cannot be questioned or held accountable bring shame and dishonor to their office and insult those who gave them their trust. At some point, “We the People” need to see our leaders for who they really are, regardless of their political affiliation, and we need to resolve to rid our city, county, state and nation of their rule if they fail to pass our personal smell tests. But that requires us as individuals — if we are wise and honest — to become the people our posterity and our nation are worthy of. Until we change, nothing will change. If we continue to put our personal interests above principle and continue to put short-term pay-offs above long-term solutions, we will get everything we deserve. I pray we wake up soon. The clock is ticking.

Like this:

Several years ago, a young student, Kari Hayes, completed our one-semester course on the 28 Principles of Liberty entitled “American Government and Constitution, Part I.” Feeling the excitement and truthfulness of these ideas, she wrote, “Armed with a pink highlighter, I began to mark verses in my Bible that correlated with the Principles of Liberty.” Kari sent me a copy of her project which she entitled, A Scriptural Index to The 5000 Year Leap. While I was teaching a seminar in Georgia, Kari showed up, eager to learn more. We have developed a warm friendship and she recently married and is now known as Kari Wentworth.

I am grateful to this young freedom-loving patriot for her untiring work and her love of correct principles. The following, which is mostly Kari’s work, is an indication of how the Founders’ principles, explained in The 5000 Year Leap, indeed have their roots in the Holy Scriptures.

Dr. Earl Taylor, Jr.

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Principle 1. The only reliable basis for sound government and just human relations is Natural Law.

Leviticus 24:22 – Ye shall have one manner of law, as well for the stranger, as for one of your own country: for I am the Lord your God.

Deuteronomy 30:11-14 – For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.

Psalm 19:7 – The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.

Principle 2. A free people cannot survive under a republican constitution unless they remain virtuous and morally strong.

Leviticus 18:26-28 – Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth among you: (For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled;) That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that were before you.

John 8:31-32 –Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Principle 3. The most promising method of securing a virtuous and morally stable people is to elect virtuous leaders.

Exodus 18:21 –Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens:

Job 34:30 –That the hypocrite reign not, lest the people be ensnared.

Principle 4.Without religion the government of a free people cannot be maintained.

Genesis 4:8-12 –And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper? And he said, What hast thou done? The voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground. And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand; When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.

2 Chronicles 7:14 – If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

2 Corinthians 5:10 – For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

Principle 5.All things were created by God, therefore upon Him all mankind are equally dependent, and to Him they are equally responsible.

Psalms 19:1 – The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handiwork

Malachi 2:11 – Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers?

Revelations 20:12 –And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

Principle 6.All men are created equal.

Exodus 30:12-15 – When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel after their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the Lord, when thou numberest them; that there be no plague among them, when thou numberest them. This they shall give, every one that passeth among them that are numbered, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary: (a shekel is twenty gerahs:) an half shekel shall be the offering of the Lord. Every one that passeth among them that are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering unto the Lord. The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when they give an offering unto the Lord, to make an atonement for your souls.

Leviticus 24:22 –Ye shall have one manner of law, as well for the stranger, as for one of your own country: for I am the Lord your God.

Numbers 15:15-16 –One ordinance shall be both for you of the congregation, and also for the stranger that sojourneth with you, an ordinance forever in your generations: as ye are, so shall the stranger be before the Lord. One law and one manner shall be for you, and for the stranger that sojourneth with you.

Deuteronomy 16:19 –Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous.

Romans 2:11 –For there is no respect of persons with God.

Principle 7.The proper role of government is to protect equal rights, not provide equal things.

Principle 8. Men are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.

Genesis 9:6 –Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.

Exodus 20:15 –Thou shalt not steal.

Leviticus 25:10 –And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubilee unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family.

Exodus 20:1-17 –AND God spake all these words, saying, I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.

2 Titus 3:16-17 –All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

Principle 10. The God-given right to govern is vested in the sovereign authority of the whole people.

Exodus 24:3 –And Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the LORD hath said will we do.

Principle 11. The majority of the people may alter or abolish a government which has become tyrannical.

Psalms 133:1 –Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

Philippians 2:2-4 – Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.

Principle 12.The United States of America shall be a republic.

Exodus 18:21 – Moreover thou shalt provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, and rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens:

Principle 13.A Constitution should be structured to permanently protect the people from the human frailties of their rulers.

Exodus 23:8 – And thou shalt take no gift: for the gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous.

Deuteronomy 17: 18-20. And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites: And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them: That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel.

Principle 14.Life and liberty are secure only so long as the right of property is secure.

Genesis 1:28 – And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

Deuteronomy 27:17 – Cursed be he that removeth his neighbour’s landmark. And all the people shall say, Amen.

Psalms 8:4-8 – What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.

Principle 15.The highest level of prosperity occurs when there is a free-market economy and minimum of government regulations.

Leviticus 25:10 – And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubilee unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family.

Deuteronomy 25:15 – But thou shalt have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure shalt thou have: that thy days may be lengthened in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

Principle 16.The government should be separated into three branches – legislative, executive, and judicial.

Isaiah 33:22 – For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; he will save us.

Principle 17. A system of checks and balances should be adopted to prevent the abuse of power.

2 Chronicles 26:16-21 –But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the LORD his God, and went into the temple of the LORD to burn incense upon the altar of incense. And Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him fourscore priests of the LORD, that were valiant men: And they withstood Uzziah the king, and said unto him, It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the LORD, but to the priests the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense: go out of the sanctuary; for thou hast trespassed; neither shall it be for thine honour from the LORD God. Then Uzziah was wroth, and had a censer in his hand to burn incense: and while he was wroth with the priests, the leprosy even rose up in his forehead before the priests in the house of the LORD, from beside the incense altar. And Azariah the chief priest, and all the priests, looked upon him, and, behold, he was leprous in his forehead, and they thrust him out from thence; yea, himself hasted also to go out, because the LORD had smitten him. And Uzziah the king was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a several [separate] house, being a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the LORD: and Jotham his son was over the king’s house, judging the people of the land.

Principle 18.The unalienable rights of the people are most likely to be preserved if the principles of government are set forth in a written constitution.

Exodus 31:18 – And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.

Deuteronomy 11:20 – And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates:

Deuteronomy 27:8 – And thou shalt write upon the stones all the words of this law very plainly.

Nehemiah 9:38 – And because of all this we make a sure covenant, and write it; and our princes, Levites, and priests, seal unto it.

Principle 19.Only limited and carefully defined powers should be delegated to government, all others being retained in the people.

Deuteronomy 17:15-20 – Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the LORD thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother. But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the LORD hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way. Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold. And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites: And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them: That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel.

Principle 20.Efficiency and dispatch require government to operate according to the will of the majority, but constitutional provisions must be made to protect the rights of the minority.

Exodus 23:2 – Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment:

Deuteronomy 27:19 – Cursed be he that perverteth the judgment of the stranger, fatherless, and widow. And all the people shall say, Amen.

Principle 21. Strong local self-government is the keystone to preserving human freedom.

Exodus 18:22-23 – And let them judge the people at all seasons: and it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge: so shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee. If thou shalt do this thing, and God command thee so, then thou shalt be able to endure, and all this people shall also go to their place in peace.

Principle 22.A free people should be governed by law and not by the whims of men.

Leviticus 24:22 – Ye shall have one manner of law, as well for the stranger, as for one of your own country: for I am the LORD your God.

Numbers 15:15-16 – One ordinance shall be both for you of the congregation, and also for the stranger that sojourneth with you, an ordinance for ever in your generations: as ye are, so shall the stranger be before the LORD. One law and one manner shall be for you, and for the stranger that sojourneth with you.

Principle 23.A free society cannot survive as a republic without a broad program of general education.

Exodus 18:20 – And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do.

Deuteronomy 6:6-7 – And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

Proverbs 9:9 – Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.

Isaiah 28:10 – For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:

Principle 24.A free people will not survive unless they stay strong.

Deuteronomy 20:5-8 – And the officers shall speak unto the people, saying, What man is there that hath built a new house, and hath not dedicated it? let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man dedicate it. And what man is he that hath planted a vineyard, and hath not yet eaten of it? let him also go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man eat of it. And what man is there that hath betrothed a wife, and hath not taken her? let him go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man take her. And the officers shall speak further unto the people, and they shall say, What man is there that is fearful and fainthearted? let him go and return unto his house, lest his brethren’s heart faint as well as his heart.

Luke 14:31-32 – Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace.

Exodus 23:32 – Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.

2 Corinthians 6:14 – Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

Principle 26.The core unit which determines the strength of any society is the family; therefore, the government should foster and protect its integrity.

Genesis 2:24 – Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

Exodus 20:12 – Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

Proverbs 20:20 – Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness.

Matthew 5:27-28 – Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

Ephesians 6:1-4 – Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

Principle 27.The burden of debt is as destructive to freedom as subjugation by conquest.

Proverbs 22:7 – The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.

Romans 13:8 – Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.

Principle 28.The United States has a manifest destiny to be an example and a blessing to the entire human race.

Psalms 33:8-12 – Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast. The LORD bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: he maketh the devices of the people of none effect. The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.

Acts 17:26-27 – And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:

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After reviewing the 28 Principles of Liberty in terms of the Holy Scriptures, we are brought to proclaim with the Psalmist:

Psalms 19:7-11 – The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.

Like this:

God, as Creator and Sovereign of all things, owns all things (Ex. 19:5; Ps. 24:1; 50:7-12; 1 Cor. 10:26). And He has delegated the stewardship of property to mankind, which he created in His image (Gen. 1:26-28) to tend and watch His garden (Gen. 2:8, 15). When Adam and Eve disobeyed the Lord, God banished them from the Garden of Eden and posted a “No Trespassing” sign in the form of Cherubims and a flaming sword to keep them out, giving them a quick lesson on the reality of private property. This doctrine was preserved as God’s way to order and prosper society, which is why he established specific property laws. For example, He condemned the accumulation of property through theft (Ex. 20:15; Deut. 19:14; 27:17; Job 24:2; Prov. 22:28; 23:10; Hos. 5:10; Eph. 4:28), the confiscation of property by governmental decree (1 Kings 21), and the willful destruction of property by the envious (Gen. 26:12, 17). To Him, these are lawless acts, damaging to an orderly society.

In the early Church, as many Christians voluntarily chose to sell their goods and give to the needy, Ananias and Sapphira sold some of their land and gave some of the profit to the apostles, pretending they had given it all. Yet, in spite of their actions, Peter upheld the doctrine of private property when he said, “While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control?” (Acts 5:4) As a result of their conduct, God punished them, not for not giving all, but for lying about what they gave.

In this light, the Biblical principle of private property is clearly antithetical to the idea of collectivism (a.k.a. Communism, Socialism, Marxism, etc.), which is mentioned in Scripture in principle. For instance, in 1 Samuel 8:5-18, after the children of Israel asked Samuel to give them a king like all the nations, Samuel prayed and God showed him “the manner of the king that shall reign over them.” Then, God told him to tell the people what he was shown: “This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you…he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your olive yards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants…he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants…he will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants.” Notice, it says, “He will take…and give…he will take…and give…he will take.” In other words, as the king, through government fiat, he will “legally” steal and redistribute your goods. This is the essence of collectivism. Also, in Proverbs 1:13-17 Solomon tells his son to avoid those whose feet “run to evil” and “make haste to shed blood” saying, “We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil: Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse…”So, in this passage, we see those who work together to find and forcefully take “precious substance” and put it into “one purse” so they can communally fill their houses with spoil. Again, this is collectivism.

And what is the motivation behind this ideology? Well, as these passages make clear, the motivation is envy, greed, and covetousness, or, as Paul the apostle said, “the love of money” which “is the root of all kinds of evil” that will pierce the greedy and faithless with “many sorrows” (1 Tim. 6:10). Of course, those who know history, know that every single person and country that has embraced “the love of money” has been pierced (in more ways than one) with “many sorrows.” This is why the Lord, out of love for us, commands us in His Word to put off envy, greed, and covetousness, which are all rooted in selfishness, and to put on love, which is selfless, kind, and charitable. It was this kind of love that motivated Christians in the first century to privately and voluntarily sell their possessions and distribute the proceeds to all who were in need (Acts 2:44-45; 4:32-35). The Lord has always designated charity toward the needy as a personal, voluntary act (Lev. 19:10; Prov. 28:27; 29:7; Matt. 19:21; 25:31-46; Lk. 3:11; Acts 20:35; Gal. 6:2; Eph. 4:28; 1 Jn. 3:17), and it is through this medium that true “fairness” and “equality” is achieved (2 Cor. 8:13-15). Never, at any point in Scripture, does God enlist the State as a tool for charity. Jesus’ command to love our neighbor as we love ourselves is to the individual, not the State, and it is through His people that He works to help the hurting and downtrodden (Ps. 37:39; 121:1-2).

It’s time to choose. Will we follow the will of God or men? Will we adhere to the timeless principles of God’s Word or to the ideals of this world? Will we raise the standard or settle for a Nanny State?

Written by Joel M. Killion

Note: This article includes paraphrases from “God vs Socialism” by Dr. Joel McDurmon of AmericanVision.org.

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The Declaration of Independence says our Creator gave us certain unalienable rights and that government exists primarily to secure for every individual the exercise of those rights. One of these rights is the right to “keep and bear Arms.” The Second Amendment is the constitutional embodiment of the Biblical right of self-defense (See Exodus 22; Judges 5:8; 1 Samuel 13:19-13; 25:13; 2 Chronicles 17; Nehemiah 4:17-18, 21, 23; Esther 8:11; 9:1-5; Psalm 18:34; 82:4; 144:11; Proverbs 24:11; 25:26; Luke 22:36-38; 1 Timothy 5:8) – this is just one of many self-evident, human rights rooted in Scripture.

The Second Amendment states that “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a Free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

In defining the “Militia” George Mason said that it consists “…of the whole people, except for a few public officers.” Richard Henry Lee echoed this when he wrote that “A militia, when properly formed, are in fact the people themselves…and include all men capable of bearing arms.” “We the People” are, by necessity, responsible for protecting liberty. As the Declaration of Independence states, whenever any form of government fails to secure the God-given right of men, “it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness… when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them [the People] under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.” So, ladies and gentleman, it is our duty and divine right to protect ourselves, our property, and our freedom, and this right shall not be “infringed,” violated, encroached upon, transgressed, limited, or broken.

As U.S. Air Force veteran Kevin Tully said, the Second Amendment is in the Constitution “…to give the people the power to keep tyranny at bay. [Tyranny is] not a wolf that dies. It’s a wolf that breeds, and it may not always be in your backyard, but it’s always looming on the horizon… and that’s why the Founding Fathers wrote it the way they did… The threat of tyranny is no less than at the turn of the century in the 1900s or 1800s or 1700s.” (Note: Tully served in Desert Shield, three tours for Operation Southern Watch, and a tour in Panama)

As Franklin County Sheriff Jerry W. Jones recently said, “The 2nd Amendment was not intended to secure the citizenry the right to hunt wild game; it was intended to assure the continuation of a Free State.”

Consider these other quotes:

“Homicide is required when it’s necessary for the defense of one’s person or one’s house and property. It is the great natural law of self-preservation that, as we have seen, cannot be repealed or superseded by any human institution. This law, however, is expressly recognized in the Constitution. Every man’s house is deemed by the law to be his castle, and the law, while it invests him with the power, it places on him the duty of commanding officer of his house (every man’s house in his castle) and if he is robbed in it, it will be esteemed his own default and negligence.” (James Wilson, Signer of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution)

“…To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms…” (Richard Henry Lee)

“The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.” (Thomas Jefferson)

“…Arms… discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property… Horrid mischief would ensue were (the law-abiding) deprived the use of them.” (Thomas Paine)

“Laws that forbid the carrying of arms disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes. Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.” (Thomas Jefferson)

“Are we at last brought to such humiliating and debasing degradation that we cannot be trusted with arms for our defense? Where is the difference between having our arms in possession and under our direction, and having them under the management of Congress? If our defense be the real object of having those arms, in whose hands can they be trusted with more propriety, or equal safety to us, as in our own hands?” (Patrick Henry)

The Constitution must never be “construed to authorize Congress to infringe… the people of the United States, who are peaceable citizens, from keeping their own arms.” (Samuel Adams)

“To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them.” (George Mason)

“We should not forget that the spark which ignited the American Revolution was caused by the British attempt to confiscate the firearms of the colonists.” (Patrick Henry)

“Never trust a government that doesn’t trust its own citizens with guns.” (Benjamin Franklin)

“One of the ordinary modes, by which tyrants accomplish their purposes without resistance, is, by disarming the people, and making it an offense to keep arms.” (Constitutional scholar and Supreme Court Justice Joseph Story, 1840)

Americans have the right and advantage of being armed – unlike the citizens of other countries whose governments are afraid to trust the people with arms. (Paraphrase of James Madison, author of the Bill of Rights, from his Federalist Paper No. 46.)

“Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are inevitably ruined.” (Patrick Henry)

“No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms.” (Thomas Jefferson)

In 1942, Adolf Hitler said, “The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to permit the conquered Eastern peoples to have arms. History teaches that all conquerors who have allowed their subject races to carry arms have prepared their own downfall by doing so.”

[CORRECTED VERSION: In the first version of this column, I incorrectly reported a figure of 25 million evangelicals voting for Obama in 2012. The actual number, as now noted below, is about 6.4 million. Please forgive my error.]

* President Obama received some 6.6 million fewer votes in 2012 than he did in 2008 (60,217,329 in 2012 votes compared to 66,882,230 votes in 2008).

* One would think that such a dynamic would have helped Romney win — clearly it did not.

* Incredibly, Governor Romney received nearly 1 million fewer votes in 2012 than Sen. John McCain received in 2008. (In 2008, McCain won 58,343,671 votes. In 2012, Romney won only 57,486,044 votes.)

Why? How was it possible for Romney to do worse than McCain? It will take some time to sift through all of the data. But here is some of what we know from the 2012 election day exit polls:

The President received a whopping 71% of the Hispanic vote (which was 10% of the total votes cast), compared to only 27% for Romney (McCain got 31% of the Hispanic vote in 2008). Obama also won 56% of the moderate vote, which was interesting given that Romney (who got 41%) was widely perceived by the GOP base as being a “Massachusetts moderate.” The President lost married women (getting only 46% of their vote to Romney’s 53%). But won decisively among unmarried women (67% to Romney’s 31%).

That said, what I’m looking at most closely is the Christian vote, and here is where I see trouble:

42% of the Protestant Christian vote went for Obama in 2012. This was down from 45% in 2008.

57% of the Protestant Christian vote went for Romney in 2012. This was up from 54% that McCain won in 2008.

When you zoom in a bit, you find that 21% of self-identified, white, born-again, evangelical Christians voted for President Obama in 2012.

You’d think this decrease in evangelical votes for Obama would have helped win the race for Romney, but it didn’t.

78% of evangelical Christians voted for Romney in 2012. Yes, this was up from the 74% that McCain received in 2008, but it wasn’t nearly enough.

To put it more precisely, about 5 million fewer evangelicals voted for Obama in 2012 than in 2008. Meanwhile, some 4.7 million more evangelicals voted for Romney than voted for McCain. Yet Romney still couldn’t win.

Meanwhile, 50% of the Catholic vote went for Obama in 2012. This was down from the 54% that Obama won in 2008.

48% of the Catholic vote went for Romney in 2012. This was up from the 45% that McCain won in 2008. Yet it still wasn’t enough.

Now consider this additional data:

In 2008, white, born-again, evangelical Christians represented 26% of the total vote for president, according to the exit polls.

In 2012, white, born-again, evangelical Christians represented 26% of the total vote for president, according to the exit polls.

In other words, we saw no change at all in the size of the evangelical vote, –no net gain, certainly no surge, no record evangelical turnout, despite expectations of this.

Of the 117 million people who voted on Tuesday, therefore, about 30 million (26%) were evangelicals. Of this, 21% — or about 6.4 million evangelicals — voted for Obama.

By comparison, of the 125 million people who voted in 2008, 32.5 million (26%) were evangelicals. At the time, Obama won 24% of evangelicals, or about 7.8 million people.

Remarkably, this means that Romney got a higher percentage of the Catholic vote than McCain, but millions of fewer Catholics actually voted in 2012, despite having Rep. Paul Ryan, a practicing Catholic, on the ticket.

What does all this mean? A few observations:

During the GOP primaries in 2012, it was reported that there was record turnout by evangelical voters — they were fired up and mobilized then (though largely behind Sen. Rick Santorum.)

There were concerns by a number of Christian leaders going into the 2012 elections that Romney’s Mormonism might suppress evangelical and conservative voter turnout.

The Romney campaign worked hard to not only to win the evangelical vote but to turn out more evangelicals to the polls — but it did not work.

Despite Obama’s pro-abortion, pro-gay marriage, anti-religious freedom record — a record presumably abhorrent both to evangelicals and conservative Catholics — Romney simply was not able to cut deeply enough into Obama’s evangelical and Catholic vote.

If Romney had been able win over significantly more evangelicals – and/or dramatically increased evangelical turnout in the right states – he would have won the election handily.

Whatever their reasons, these so-called evangelicals doomed Romney and a number of down-ballot candidates for the House and Senate.

This is what happens when the Church is weak and fails to disciple believersto turn Biblical faith into action.

Given the enormous number of evangelical Christians in the U.S., this bloc could still affect enormous positive change for their issues if they were to unify and vote for the pro-life, pro-marriage candidate as a bloc.

What will it take to educate, register and mobilize Christians to vote on the basis of Biblical principles, and what kind of candidates could best mobilize them? This is a critical question that Christian political leaders as well as pastors must serious consider. As we have seen, just a few million more evangelicals voting for pro-life, pro-marriage candidates could offset other demographics that are becoming more liberal.

That said, we need national candidates who take values issues as seriously as economic and fiscal issues, and have strong credentials on these values issues, and can talk about these issues in a winsome, compassionate, effective manner.

We need pastors registering voters in their churches and teaching the people in their congregations the importance of the civic duty of voting.

None of this should come, however, at the expense of pastors and other Christian leaders clearly, boldly and unequivocally teaching and preaching the Word, proclaiming the Gospel, and making disciples, and helping believers learn to live out their faith in a real and practical way in their communities, including being “salt” and “light” to preserve what is good in society. What we need most in America isn’t a political revival but a sweeping series of spiritual revivals — a Third Great Awakening. As men and women’s hearts are transformed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ, they will, in time, vote for the values they are internalizing from the Bible. As I wrote about in Implosion, if we don’t see a Third Great Awakening soon, I’m not convinced we will be able to turn this dear nation around in time.

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Dr. Rob Pochek, pastor of Raleigh Road Baptist Church here in Wilson NC, was a key speaker at our 2012 Pre-Election Rally this past Saturday (Oct 13). Here is a copy of his remarkable address:

It is a great honor to have been asked to speak at this rally. I want to thank Joel and everyone responsible for putting this event together. I also want to say it is risky to ask a Southern Baptist pastor to limit his remarks to 7 minutes. We usually cannot get through an introduction in seven minutes!

I heard about a tourist who walked into a curio shop in San Francisco. Looking around at the exotica, he notices a very lifelike life-sized bronze statue of a rat. It has no price tag, but is so striking he decides he must have it. He takes it to the owner: ”How much for the bronze rat?” ”$12 for the rat, $100 for the story,” says the owner. The tourist gives the man $12. ”I’ll just take the rat, you can keep the story.” As he walks down the street carrying his bronze rat, he notices that a few real rats have crawled out of the alleys and sewers and begun following him down the street. This is disconcerting, and he begins walking faster. But within a couple of blocks, the herd of rats behind him has grown to hundreds, and they begin squealing. He begins to trot toward the Bay, looking around to see that the rats now number in the MILLIONS, and are squealing and coming toward him faster and faster. Concerned, even scared, he runs to the edge of the Bay, and throws the bronze rat as far out into the water as he can. Amazingly, the millions of rats all jump into the Bay after it, and are all drowned. The man walks back to the curio shop. ”Ah ha,” says the owner, ”you have come back for the story?” ”No,” says the man, ”I came back to see if you have a bronze Liberal.”

The title of my talk is The Christian and Civic Engagement. It seems to me that those who claim to be followers of Christ have differing opinions about the right relationship Christ-followers should have toward addressing issues of public concern. Or, to say it more clearly, there is some disagreement among believers about this thing we call politics.

At its heart, politics is the legislative enacting of a worldview. Make no mistake about that. Every political issue, every piece of legislation, every political philosophy is driven by a worldview.Because the political process is about enacting legislation in support of a worldview, Christians must be engaged in the process.

How Should We Then Live? – Francis A. Schaeffer

Nearly 40 years ago Francis Schaeffer warned American evangelicals that the winner of the worldview war would determine the kind of government we would submit to. In How Should We Then Live? (1976) Schaeffer’s central premise is that when we base society on the Bible, on the infinite-personal God who is there and has spoken, that premise provides an absolute by which we can conduct our lives and by which we can judge society. He contrasted that Christian worldview with a humanistic worldview. Schaeffer defined humanism as “a value system rooted in the belief that man is his own measure, that man is autonomous, totally independent”.Schaeffer argued that when we base society on humanism, all values are relative and we have no way to distinguish right from wrong except for utilitarianism. Essentially, the primary guide for determining right and wrong is determined by that which provides the greatest happiness of the greatest number of people.

When a society bases its political and philosophical foundation on humanism, the member of that society disagree on what is best, and that devolves into a value system that is based on Personal Peace (the desire to be personally unaffected by the world’s problems) and Affluence (an increasing personal income.) Chillingly, Schaeffer warned that when we live by these values we will be tempted to sacrifice our freedoms in exchange for an authoritarian government who will provide the relative values.

That, my friends, is precisely what we see happening in our culture today. Whether it is euphoria over Obamaphones, the promotion of Food Stamp parties, or the systematic limitation of religious liberty through Obamacare, the only thing that seems to matter in our political culture is the greatest happiness of the greatest number of people. This is the water in which our culture is swimming. I mention all of this because we need to understand that if we focus on the symptoms, we will lose this battle. If we are going to engage this battle, we have to understand that it is a philosophical and spiritual battle. And, that battle cannot be won apart from the work of the Holy Spirit.

I’d like to explore the question: How Should We Then Live when it comes to political and civic engagement? Some say that Christians ought to withdraw from the political process. This view would have us to believe that the church and Christians should have no role in secular government. These believers would say that we should focus our attention on the gospel and not get mixed up in politics. That God will take care of everything and we don’t need to be involved.

Others, particularly on the left, would cry “separation of church and state” and wish that believers would, in fact, retire to our prayer chambers and leave the work of governing to them. Still others – and these are the saddest of all to me – do not see that our Christian convictions have any bearing on our political views. These are the folks that would like to read and believe the Bible when it speaks of God’s forgiveness and salvation, but are not as comfortable when God defines marriage or calls the sacrificing children on the altar of self murder or calls Israel the people of God and promises blessing to those who will befriend her.

What is the appropriate approach? As I think of the Scripture, the first thing I consider (and the only thing I have time to pursue at the moment) is that Christ followers are aliens and strangers on the earth. That is Peter’s description in 1 Pet 2:11-12; there he says:

Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

Peter does not say, you are aliens and strangers here, so do not engage with the larger culture. No. He says that we can effect change and bring glory to God while living in a culture that has turned its back on God. How? The text says we make a difference by both a negative and a positive exhortation. He says we should:

Abstain from sinful desires.

Live such good lives that our good deeds silence their false accusations.

In doing these things, we bring glory to God.

This advice is not just Peter’s idea, but is a consistent theme of the entire Bible. For example, when the children of Israel were carried into captivity in Babylon, the prophet Jeremiah wrote to them giving them advice on how to live as captives in a foreign land. He did not incite them to riot or to protest against their captors. He did not suggest they seek to overthrow them by force. No, in Jer 29:4-7 we find this instruction:

This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”

This, I believe, should be the disposition of believers today – make the society you are a part of better because of your presence. Add value to the land of your habitation. Seek the benefit and prosperity of the land in which you are an alien and stranger. And, as the culture is blessed, you too will be blessed.

Sitting on the sidelines is not an option. Being marginalized because of our faith is not an option. No, rather, engaging in the process seeking the peace and prosperity of our nation is our only option. As we do, we must recognize that we are in a spiritual and philosophical battle and that, ultimately, victory is not found in ballots or elections, but in the spiritual transformation of a nation through the power of Jesus Christ.

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Farmington Heights Church in Wilson (NC) will be showing Kirk Cameron’s movie MONUMENTAL: In Search of America’s National Treasure on Sun., Oct. 14 @ 7p.

“Monumental is the story of America’s beginnings. Presented, produced, and starring Kirk Cameron, the 90-minute true story follows this father of six across Europe and the U.S. as he seeks to discover America’s true ‘national treasure’ – the people, places, and principles that made America the freest, most prosperous and generous nation the world has ever known.

“Long regarded as “the land of opportunity,” there’s no question the tiny band of religious outcasts who founded this country hit upon a formula for success that went way beyond what they could have imagined. How else can you explain the fact that they established a nation that has become the best example of civil, economic and religious liberty the world has ever known?

“What formula did they discover? What motivated them to come here in the first place? More importantly, how can we apply these same foundational truths today?

“Take your family on a new adventure to discover the true national treasure of America.”

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God Almighty owns everything. This is the biblical view: “The earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains, the world, and those who dwell in it” (Ps. 24:1); God says, “[E]very beast of the forest is Mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird of the mountains, and everything that moves in the field is Mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell you; for the world is Mine, and all it contains (Ps. 50:9–12).

God created mankind in His own image. Man reflects God’s character and order. Just as God owns everything, God delegated the stewardship and dominion of property to His image, mankind (Gen. 1:26–28), and thus humans have the capacity and calling to act as private owners. God planted a special garden—the Garden of Eden—and placed man in it to till it, and to guard its boundaries (Gen. 2:8, 15). When Adam and Eve rebelled against God’s law-order, God kicked them outside of those boundaries, and placed a “no-trespassing” sign in the form of an angelic guardian at their gates (Gen. 3:23–24). Adam and Eve very quickly learned the ins and outs of private property.

This doctrine continued as God’s way of ordering and prospering society, and we see this in the fact that God’s fundamental laws for living—the Ten Commandments—includes the prohibition of theft (Ex. 20:15). No man or group of men can take another man’s property—by individual act, legislation, petition, conspiracy, or appeal to the “common good”—in disregard for God’s law. The Old Testament frequently refers to the moving of a neighbor’s landmark (a property corner) in order to increase one’s own property (Deut. 19:14; 27:17; Job 24:2; Prov. 22:28; 23:10; Hos. 5:10). The references forbid or condemn the act as an attack on inheritance and possession (Deut. 19:14).

The same doctrine holds in the New Testament. In the early Church in Acts 5, as many Christians voluntarily sold their goods and gave to the poor among them, one couple sold some land and laid only a portion at the apostles’ feet pretending they had given all. Nevertheless, even for these corrupt-hearted individuals, Peter upheld the doctrine of private property: “While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control?” (Acts 5:4). God punished them, not for not giving all, but for lying about what they gave.

Other apostles upheld the doctrine as well: Paul preached against theft (Eph. 4:28), as did Peter (1 Pet. 4:15) and James (Jam. 5:4). Not to mention that Jesus saw the command as quite relevant as well (Matt. 19:18).

The biblical witness is clear: God believes in private property, and He not only desires us but commands us to live by that rule as well. Under this system, our rights and freedoms come from God. No man can take them away. He who tries must answer to the law, and ultimately to God.

Socialism is the belief that individual private property is a bad idea. It is thus an anti-Christian and anti-biblical belief. Socialists believe that governments should own most or all property and distribute it out as government experts, scientists, politicians, or occasionally voters see fit. Under socialism, the State puts itself in the place of God and says, “The earth is the State’s, and all it contains, the world, and those who dwell in it.” Under this view, the individual has no protection from his neighbor if his neighbor is in the majority, or if the State somehow deems his neighbor as needful in some way; the State simply uses force to take that individual’s property and give it to someone else. In this sense, the State moves landmarks every day. In this view, the State determines our rights, and gives us our freedoms; here there is no appeal beyond the State.

Socialism is the belief, therefore, that stealing is acceptable as long as another man or group of men says so. Socialism believes in theft by majority vote or by a majority of representatives’ votes in Congress. Socialism is the belief that armed robbery is OK as long as you do it through proxy of the government’s gun. Socialism places man, and ultimately the State, in the place of God. Man becomes owned by other men, instead of by his Maker. Socialism is an entirely humanistic, God-denying, God-usurping belief.

Between these two beliefs—private property and socialism—there exists fundamental conflict. They represent contradictory views of sovereignty, man, law, society, and inheritance. They are fundamentally rival religious systems. Choosing one, you reject the other—service and honor to God, or servitude to fellow men. Either God commands and judges man, or man commands and judges man.

This is the Introduction to Mr. McDurmon’s book by the same title. To order your copy of his book, CLICK HERE.

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Disclaimers

The Wilson NC Tea Party (WNCTP) does not endorse candidates on the federal, state, or local levels. We are simply pointing our fellow citizens to the principles and values of our founding so that they will be able to vote, in the primary and general elections, for those candidates who are most aligned with those principles and values. With that said all candidate-related posts are for education purposes only.

Also, the views and opinions shared as comments on the WNCTP Blog, by its various members, do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of the WNCTP leadership and volunteer base. Since the WNCTP is "Of The People, For The People, By The People" and believes in the First Amendment, we cannot and will not deny any member their right to "free speech" regarding their political and/or policy positions, but our tolerance of their views does not necessarily reflect consent.